Unconventional
by Cheshire'sArrow
Summary: Fourth Year Slytherin Adam Parker makes a promise to look out for a new Slytherin boy. He certainly didn't expect to find himself falling in love with the boy's Hufflepuff twin as the years went on. After the Battle of Hogwarts, OC centric, told in snippets.
1. Chapter 1

_Some OC's I dug up from a long time ago, before I even had a ff_ _account. Please be nice to them, but be honest in your reviews of what you thought. Thank you :)_

 _Only Disclaimer I'll do: I do not own the amazing world of Harry Potter, but that's okay. I can still play around with it :)_

* * *

Adam Parker was only eleven years old when war rang out across the Wizarding World.

He had only just begun his first year at Hogwarts in 1997, and he didn't want to go. His mother was a half-blood Ravenclaw and his father a pureblood Gryffindor, so of course he was terrified when, after sitting for nearly five minutes, the Sorting Hat declared the small blond boy a Slytherin. It didn't help that the Prefects for his house – a girl who looked like a dog and the son of the Malfoy's – seemed more interested in tormenting their new housemates instead of offering guidance.

And of course, spring brought an entirely different problem. Harry Potter, the 'Chosen One', had come back to the school and then everything started blowing up. Adam didn't remember too much of the battle – he spent a lot of it crying and trying not to be sick, that he recalled all to clearly – but he remembered thinking that this was going to be the day the world ended.

Naturally, being eleven (almost twelve, now), this was blown out of proportion.

The world didn't end, but began anew. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was dead – killed by Potter – and the school had never been more united. Everything was going to be fine.

Second and third year went smoothly. Almost boring compared to what went down when he was just a First Year. Fourth year, however, brought change in the form of a pair of twins, a brother and sister.

Adam always liked watching the Sorting Hat call out the houses of the small new comers. He made a point to be kind to all the incoming Slytherin students (as well as those from the other houses). Even if he wasn't a Prefect – he was, after all, only a fourth year - he wanted to be kinder than the older students had been for him.

He noticed to kids standing near the back of the crowd, gripping tightly to one another. They both had similar facial features, a rounded face and a small nose, and their hair color was exactly the same – a brown color that was a shade or two darker than the darkest blonde. The girl looked a little more at ease than her brother, who was shaking like a leaf and constantly wiping his too-large glasses on the hem of his robes. Poor kid, Adam thought to himself.

"Charlotte, Ariel," was called forward first, and the small girl had to tug her hand out of her brother's grasp. She was declared a Hufflepuff almost the moment the Sorting Hat touched her head.

Sending her brother an encouraging smile, she skipped to the Hufflepuff table and engaged herself in conversation with her peers, some of whom outright ignored her.

"Charlotte, Peter,"

Quickly shoving his glasses back onto his face, the boy hesitantly approached the stool. It took almost a full minute for his house to be determined, and then it was called.

" _Slytherin_ ,"

Behind his glasses, little Peter's face went pale. Adam couldn't tell if it was because the boy had heard of the house and it's history, or because he was being separated from his sister. Either way, Adam felt bad for the boy. He supposed that it could be that he saw himself in the kid.

After the feast, as he was returning to the Slytherin common room, Adam felt a tug on the back of his robes. Turning around, he found himself looking down on the brother and sister duo, Ariel looking determined and Peter looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Hey, you." Ariel said, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "You're a Slytherin." It wasn't a question.

He nodded, and tried not to show his amusement at the tiny Hufflepuff girl confronting him.

"Yeah," he answered her. "What do you need, Squirt?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he made note to not call her 'Squirt' again.

"Peter's a Slytherin, too." She stated. "You're going to be his friend."

Peter blushed at his sister's boldness, but said nothing, choosing to look at his shoes instead.

"Sorry?" Adam asked, confused. "What about the other First Years?"

Ariel scowled at the direction of the line of First Year Slytherins following the Prefects down to the dungeons.

"They're all jerks," she declared. "I tried to talk to them on the train ride here and they were mean to me." She elbowed her brother. "Huh, Peter?"

Peter briefly looked up and gave a short nod.

"So you're going to be his friend 'cause I was watching you and you aren't a git." She watched him, waiting for a reaction.

Adam had to hold in a laugh, but bent down so that he was level with the twins, who were considerably shorter than him.

"Would you be okay hanging around me, Peter?" he asked.

Peter looked at him with large hazel eyes – a contrast to his sister's incredibly dark brown – and nodded slowly. Adam grinned at him. He looked to Ariel.

"I'll try not to be too boring, but I promise I'll look after him." He said seriously.

Ariel stared at him, trying to determine if this was a good choice or not, but nodded, a grin creeping onto her face.

"Cheers," she said, turning to her brother and giving him an affectionate yank on the ear before sprinting off towards the kitchens and the Hufflepuff crowd.

Adam straightened up to his full 5'10 height and, with a quick glance to make sure Peter was following, resumed his walk to the Slytherin common room.

"Are your parents magic?" came a small voice from down near his elbow.

Adam looked down at Peter.

"You mean, are they a witch and wizard?'

Peter nodded, and Adam looked ahead to watch where they were going.

"Yeah, they are. My dad's a pureblood – that mean's his whole family's magic, by the way – and my mom's parents are both Muggleborn." He glanced down at the kid.

"Oh. My mom's a Muggle." Peter said. "I think my dad is a half-blood, but I can't be sure. We aren't aloud to see him anymore."

This was something Adam wasn't expecting to have shared with him, and he didn't press the subject.

They'd reached the common room, barely catching up to the group of first years before they all disappeared inside.

Glancing down at his new companion, Adam realized that this was going to be an interesting year.

* * *

 _Word Count: 1,066 without A/N_


	2. Chapter 2

_Another chapter... lots of days later. Sorry about that. Thank you to_ ** _Loopy Leefy_** _for the review :)_

* * *

"I don't think I like the Potions professor."

Peter plopped down next to Adam in front of the fire in the Slytherin common room. Adam looked up from his Transfiguration homework.

"Slughorn?"

A nod.

"He's not too bad. Plays favorites, but from what some of the older kids say, his predecessor was a right bastard.'

"I'm not aloud to say that word," Peter said.

"Sorry."

Adam shifted so that he was facing the younger boy better.

"So, why don't you like Slughorn?" he asked him, and Peter shrugged, staring at the orange and gold flames flickering in the fireplace.

"Kind of for what you said, mostly. He likes the kids that are smart and do well. He's not actually mean, but I don't like it when teachers play favorites."

He pulled out a roll of parchment and a quill and sighed.

"Want me to help you with your Charms homework, Pete?"

Peter gave a small smile and nodded.

* * *

"Peter!"

The small boy spun around, the movement nearly knocking his slightly-to-large glasses from his face. Ariel giggled softly and pushed them back into place before slinging an arm around her brother as the two of them walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts together, a class period shared between their houses.

"How was your first week?" Ariel disguised it as a question, though it was more of a demand.

Peter shrugged, but he had a small smile on his face.

"It was good." He said, not going into further detail about his classes. "Adam is nice."

Ariel gave a serious nod.

"Good," she said, "I'm glad that you have someone." Her voice seemed very small.

Peter wondered if she was feeling lonely.

"Have you made any friends?"

It was her turn to shrug, and she did so with a bright smile.

"Yeah, but no one like from at home." She frowned a little. "I miss my friends."

Peter stayed silent, but Ariel knew that he was a boy of few words, and made no comment on it. She never did.

* * *

Adam flipped through his History of Magic textbook, a small frown on his face. It was probably his least favorite subject of the lot, and he wasn't doing to hot in it, either.

"Are you going home for Christmas?"

Adam jumped upon hearing the voice come from behind him in the Slytherin common room.

"Shit- Peter, you startled me!" he said, a little bit of accusation in his voice.

Peter shrank back a little, and Adam rubbed a hand over his face, feeling very tired.

"No, no, you're alright. You just caught me off-guard. What do you need?" he said with a sigh.

Peter shifted from one foot to another.

"Are you staying here for Christmas, or are you going home?" he rephrased his question.

Adam put his book aside.

"I'm going home. My half-sister is visiting with her fiancé, so my Mum wants the entire family there. Why? Are you staying?"

Peter nodded, looking miserable.

"Mum's got a new girlfriend," he said, "and they're spending Christmas with her parents. She invited me and Ariel, but Ariel said that she didn't want to spend the Holidays with old people." He made a face. "I don't want to meet her new girlfriend, she never stays with them that long, anyway."

"Oh." Adam considered this for a moment before tentatively asking, "You can't spend the break with your dad, right? You said you weren't in contact with him."

His question was answered by another nod.

"Dad got put in prison because he did bad things," he said quietly. "Least, that's what Mum says."

Adam thought for a moment. He couldn't let these poor kids spend a Holiday alone. Sure, the staff stayed during the Holidays, and some other students, too, but still… Finally, he came up with an idea.

"Do," he began, "do you and your sister want to spend the Holiday with me and my family? I've got a cousin about a year younger than you, and I'm sure you'd have fun."

Peter gave a small smile.

"I'll ask Ariel," he said in reply. "Your parents won't mind?"

No, they'd be thrilled that there'd be more kids to spoil, Adam thought with a smile.

"Nah, they'd love you."

Peter's smile was a full-blown grin now.

"Okay," he said brightly, surprising Adam by giving him a brief hug before sprinting out of the common room.

He watched him go for a moment before grabbing his textbook and returning to his studies.

* * *

 _"_ _Darlings,_

 _I really want you to come home for the Easter Holiday. Maryanne wants to meet you, and I would love it if you got along with her, for my sake. Besides, your birthday is coming up and I want to know what the two of you want me to get you for your gifts. Nothing from that prank shop, Ariel.  
When you meet Maryanne, remember not to say anything about your school, please. I don't want her running out on me, and I don't think she's ready to know about all that just yet. I certainly wasn't when I met your father.  
Remember to do well in your classes, and not to eat too many sweets.  
Love,  
Mummy."_

Ariel scoffed as she finished reading the letter.

"Can you believe her," she asked Peter. "Wasn't she with Katie or Cassie or whoever just a few weeks ago?"

Peter said nothing, but he looked fairly disgruntled.

"I mean," Ariel went on, "I'm glad that she's got company while we're gone, but can she pick one for more than a month?"

"She hasn't found the right person yet," Peter said softly, shrugging.

Ariel rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, Dad was the right person." She grumbled. "And if she'd waited, she'd realize that he wasn't doing anything bad, and then we'd be a family."

Peter sat there for a moment, quite, before saying, "But she said Dad hurt people, that he did bad things."

His sister snorted.

"I looked him up, you know." She said. "In the library back home. Andrew Bristol. He got arrested because he cheated at gambling on a holiday in Las Vegas." She grit her teeth. "The real reason that Mum didn't want us near him was because he had magic, and she was scared. And now she's scared of us, even if she won't admit it."

"But she's our mum." Peter mumbled.

Ariel sighed and squeezed her brother's hand.

"Yeah, she's still our mum."

* * *

 _Word_ _Count: 1,074 without A/N_


	3. Chapter 3

_I love love love writing Ariel and Peter, they are just the most precious cinnamon rolls. Here's the latest chapter. Also, the next chapter for my other story is probably going to take a while. I had a lovely snow day yesterday, and the entire college campus was shut down, so I have a bunch of stuff i need to make up for in my classes. Sorry :(_

 _*02-03-16 Edit* For some reason, the formatting was really screwy with this chapter. It has been fixed._

* * *

 _Dear Peter and Ariel,  
Happy Birthday! I hope that you've had a good one so far. Twelve is a good age to be, in my opinion. You're going to really enjoy second year. Oh! I've been made Prefect this year, so I won't be able to spend much time with you on the train. Sorry about that.  
I'm sorry; I'm not very good at letters. I hope my owl got your presents to you in one piece.  
I'll see you in September!  
Adam  
P.S. My mum wishes you a happy birthday as well, and says that you are invited to Christmas again this year if you want._

Peter read the letter from his friend aloud, a smile on his face the entire time. His mother, Loren, gave a thin smile as her son read. Her newest boyfriend – Chad or whatever – had left an hour earlier, and she was probably glad that he wasn't here to hear mentions of the Wizarding World. She and the twins were sitting in the living room of their flat in New Castle opening the gifts that had been sent to them by family and friends.

"What did he get us?" Ariel asked, peeking over Peter's shoulder. "Mum! Make Peter give me the letter so I can see!"

Loren stroked her daughter's back.

"Dearest, just open the packages, don't be greedy with your brother," she scolded lightly, and Ariel scowled briefly before grinning and ripping open the brown paper packages that Adam's owl had painstakingly delivered.

Peter had received a leather-bound sketchbook and a brand new quill and ink set, and he smiled happily at the sight of them. Sometime near the end of term, Adam had discovered that his young friend had a passion for drawing. Peter was actually surprised that he had remembered that little fact.

"Yes!" he heard Ariel shriek in triumph, and he shifted his position to face her and see what it was that had got her so excited.

It was a book on magical creatures, the pictures of which, naturally, were moving. Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw his mother wince, though she put on a bright smile.

"That's lovely, Pet." She said, placing a kiss on her daughter's head and pulling Peter in for a hug, which he melted into. He had always enjoyed physical contact.

The rest of their birthday – a lovely day in August – was spent helping their mother make cookies to bring to their grandparent's house an hour drive away. Ariel was excited, she was very close to her grandmother and grandfather, and was always eager to play with their two Dalmatians.

Peter absently sketched a picture of Ariel and the dogs as he sat in the shade of the back porch of their grandparent's home, and nearly jumped out of his skin when his grandfather approached.

"Now that's an interesting way to draw." Calvin said, standing behind the bespectacled boy.

Peter looked up at him.

"My friend from school sent it to me for my birthday," he said by way of explanation. "He's really nice."

"Is this the same friend that you spent Christmas with?" his grandfather asked him, sitting down next to him with a soft groan.

Peter nodded, his focus back on the page. He was just glad that he hadn't used the ink that Adam had sent along with the quill – it had been enchanted to make the drawings move, which would be fairly hard to explain to anyone.

"Yeah. He knew that we didn't want to meet Mum's girlfriend from then, and his parents were really cool about it. They even invited us back for this year." He grew quiet before asking softly, "Grandpa, why does Mum always have a different boyfriend or girlfriend?"

Calvin considered this for a brief moment before answering.

"I think your mother doesn't know what she's looking for in a significant other. She married your father on a whim, and really only stayed with him for as long as she did because she was pregnant with you at the time."

"Do you think my dad really was – _is_ – a bad person?" Peter asked.

His grandfather shrugged.

"Son, I really don't know. I only met him a few times. He didn't seem like the type of person that could harm a kitten, let alone another human being, but stranger things have happened. All I know is that your mum started acting stranger a few months after she had you, and he was arrested in the States not much later."

Peter considered telling him Ariel's theory that their mother had left the man because of her aversion to magic, but his grandparents were still kept in the dark about the twins little secret, and he didn't want his them to be scared of him and his sister like his mother was.

He sighed and shut his sketchbook – after allowing the ink to dry – before standing up and stretching.

"It's getting a little too warm out here," he mumbled. "I think I'm going to go inside."

Calvin smiled at him.

"Alright, boy. Don't want you to tire yourself out, do we."

Peter shot him a quick grin before disappearing inside the house.

* * *

Ariel wasn't very happy.

She had spent the entire summer by her brother's side once more, and now their Houses were separating them again. She pouted a bit, giving herself a moment to be unhappy before sighing and shaking the bad feelings out of her mind. It didn't matter. They were back at Hogwarts, back to magic, and back to friends.

She really had only one close friend for most of her life, and that was Peter. However, she had had a few girl friends in New Castle that she missed when she returned to Hogwarts. Most of the Hufflepuffs deemed her a little too exuberant for their tastes, and tolerated her for the most part. She got along with a pretty dark-haired girl from Gryffindor and a tall boy from Ravenclaw, but they weren't in her same house, and she felt a bit lost when she was left to her peers.

"Are you okay?" one of the new Hufflepuff First Year's asked her, and she grinned at them.

"Yeah, I'm great!" she said cheerfully. "My name's Ariel, Ariel Charlotte. I'm a Second Year."

The first year – a rather short boy with a mop of curly dark hair, beamed up at her.

"I'm Leo Walker," he said with a smile. "I'm a First Year, but you probably knew that already."

Ariel nodded, giggling slightly.

"Your height gave it away," she teased.

Leo gave a mock-scowl.

"I am not short," he declared. "I'd simply be too much to handle if I were any bigger. That's what my Dad says." Ariel could hear the pride in the smaller boy's voice. "He's an Auror and he get's to work with Harry Potter."

"That's pretty wicked," she commented. She'd really only heard rumors about the 'savior' of the Wizarding World, but she supposed that it would be pretty cool to work with a living legend.

Leo launched into an excited rant about the Potter guy, and Ariel (even though she only understood about half of it) thoroughly enjoyed it.

From that point on, she had a friend in the Hufflepuff house.

* * *

"I swear, you grew like four inches," Adam commented as he gave Peter a sideways glance.

Peter laughed.

"Good, I won't be small forever, then." He said.

Adam ruffled his hair.

"Nah, you're not small. You're still a growing kid, and you haven't even hit puberty yet."

Peter made a face at the last comment, making it Adam's turn to laugh.

"Oh, touchy subject," he teased, prodding the boy's side with the end of his wand. "Looks like I know your weakness, Pete."

Peter pushed Adam's hand away.

"I got the bird's and the bee's talk _years_ ago," he informed his older friend. "By my mum. I don't think there's much you can do to make me uncomfortable."

Adam took this as a challenge and grinned at Peter.

"Oh, really?" he asked. "Because I saw a certain someone looking at Liza Goodman from Ravenclaw the other day, and she's a _very_ pretty young lady~" He raised his eyebrows, and Peter flushed scarlet.

* * *

 _Word Count: 1,375 without A/N_


	4. Chapter 4

_Another chapter!_

* * *

Second year was fairly boring, Ariel thought to herself as she watched the final Quidditch match of the season. She was sitting with Leo by her side, and the two of them were cheering on their team of choice (it was Ravenclaw verses Gryffindor, and they were cheering for the former).

Nothing to exciting had really happened this year. Their mother had a new boyfriend, but the small family spent the Christmas Holidays together that year, much to the disappointment of Adam's mother.

"Let her know," Ariel said to Adam after the game was over (Ravenclaw won) with a completely serious expression, "that our Mum's boyfriend is a twit. He didn't even acknowledge us." She folded her arms across her chest, sulking slightly. "And he didn't bring us any presents, either."

Adam chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"Well, from what I know of you mum, she'll move on to a new significant other in about a month or two, so don't worry too much about it."

The small girl shrugged.

"I'm gonna head back to my common room," she informed her companion, "I promised I'd help Leo with his transfiguration homework."

Adam nodded and watched her go, her long brown hair streaming behind her.

* * *

Easter break passed by in a flash, Peter realized as he studied for one of his final exams. There were only three weeks left in the school year already, and he found himself hesitant to return home. Not because he didn't want to leave his (only) friend, or the magic community as a whole, but because he didn't want to see his mother again.

He loved her, he really did, but he was getting tired of dealing with her. It seemed that as he grew older, she grew younger – at least, in mentality. Her frivolous behavior wasn't present when the twins were younger; in fact, she was a pretty good parent when they were kids. But ever since the two of them had discovered their magic, she'd grown distant and careless. She loved them still, he could tell, but she didn't know them anymore, just as they didn't truly know her.

It was not a predicament that he had ever imagined himself in.

He didn't know whether or not to discuss the topic with Adam, they were close, but he had only known the older boy for a little over a year or so. And Ariel was in a completely different house from him, so their time spent together was limited.

It really sucked.

He sighed as he packed away his ink and quill, tucking his books under his arm and returning back to the Slytherin common room to drop his things off before heading to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Hey, Adam," he called as he spotted his blond-haired friend.

Adam gave him a wave of acknowledgement before returning to his own meal. Peter sat down next to him, providing himself with a plate and piling it high with food. He ate with gusto.

Adam chuckled a bit.

"You have enough food there, Pete?" he asked, gesturing at the overflowing plate. Peter looked up at him in confusion, not understanding the sarcasm. "You have enough food to feed an army," Adam said. "You having a growth spurt, or something?"

Peter shrugged.

"I hope so," he replied. "It would suck to stay this short forever. I don't think Ariel would mind much, though. Makes people underestimate her."

The Prefect snorted a bit.

"I'd pay twelve galleons to see her take on an Auror."

Peter threw his head back with laughter.

"She may be tough, but not that tough!" he said. "Although, she is pretty scary when she wants to be."

"I'm well aware of that, having witnessed it first hand." The older Slytherin remarked with a smile.

* * *

Ariel kicked at the wall by the Slytherin common room down in the dungeons as she waited for her brother to exit. The early spring weather was absolutely lovely today, and she was looking forward to spending the rest of the day with Peter.

Now, if he would just _hurry up_.

Absently, she hummed a tune under her breath as she picked at her thumbnail. Gee, Peter sure was slow. She walked over a few feet to a decorative suit of armor and busied herself with making faces at her reflection.

"What are you doing?"

She jumped – only a little – and spun on her heel to face her twin, who was staring at her with a look of amusement.

"Waiting for you, slow poke." She said flippantly. "Why do you have to take forever?" She gave an exaggerated sigh and draped herself over her brother, who grunted under her weight.

"Gerroff!" he grumbled, but his tone was good-natured. When she released him, he straightened his tie and hefted his book bag higher on his shoulder. "Do you wanna work on homework or something while we're out?"

Ariel wrinkled her nose with mock-disgust.

"Ergh, no!" she said. "It's a Friday, we have all weekend to do our stupid homework. Let's do something fun!"

Peter eyed her warily.

"What sort of 'fun'?" he asked her cautiously.

Her face split in a devilish grin.

"Oh, you'll see,"

The 'fun' that she had in mind was to 'borrow' – "It's not stealing if you put it back later, brother mine." – a school broom and take turns flying around the pitch and tossing rocks at one another.

Peter, naturally, was not too keen on the idea. He didn't mind the whole 'borrowing' concept – that was what the brooms were for, after all – but the idea of either throwing rocks at his sister, or having her throw them at him, didn't sit well with him.

"What if one of us gets hit in the head?" he asked Ariel, gnawing on his lower lip in worry.

She waved off his concerns as if they were of little importance.

"Alright, alright, you won't have to fly. Just chuck the rocks at me and it will all be fine!"

"Ariel, that doesn't sound fun."

She fixed him with a glare and he succumbed to the stupidity of the entire thing.

"Fine," he growled under his breath. "But if you get hurt I'm blaming you."

She shrugged.

"Okay then!"

* * *

Adam didn't know exactly why he decided to go to the Quidditch pitch after lunch. Maybe it was because he wanted to be away from the massive crowds that choked the halls of the school. Maybe it was because he just wanted to find a quiet place to do his homework. Or maybe it was because he'd somehow developed a sixth sense that knew when Peter and Ariel were up to something stupid, and he had to go make sure that they weren't going to accidentally kill one another.

Granted, that probably wouldn't happen. Nah, they'd be accidentally killing someone else.

He didn't expect to see tiny little Peter tossing stones to his sister, who was perched on a broom at least ten feet up in the air. He also didn't expect her to be such a great catch.

He didn't want to call out to them, not quite yet, in case it startled one of them and they ended up with a rock to the head, but when Ariel gracefully landed the broom onto the field, he stood and clapped his hands loudly.

Peter was startled enough that he promptly fell over, and his sister laughed as she helped him to his feet.

"That was pretty good flying, Ariel," Adam said as he made his way down to the twins. "You should talk to the Hufflepuff captain about joining the Quidditch team next term."

Ariel smiled, a hint of blush barely visible on her cheeks.

Adam turned to the younger Slytherin boy.

"And you've got quite the arm on you, Pete."

Peter shrugged.

"Let's go head to the Great Hall for dinner," Ariel said suddenly, "I'm starving!"

* * *

 _Word Count: 1,317 without A/N_


End file.
